Safety razor



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R. P. HARSHBE'RGER SAFETY RAZOR Filed Dec. 51, 1928 and improved Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES PATE NT j .o1-FICE Application fllecl December 3,1, 192B. Serial No. 329,489.

The invention relates generally to safety razors and more particularly to razors of the type illustrated and described in my copending application, Patent No. 1,760,496, filed January 20, 1922.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved razor of this type hav'ng a novel and compact arrangement of operating parts whereby an exceed'ngly high speed and efficiency of operative movement may be achieved.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety razor embodying a novel form of governor for controlling the operating speed of the device.

Still another object is to produce a new power` driven safety razor "n which the operating parts are arranged for easy assembly and disassembly and are capable of being quickly adjusted in various of its operating parts to attain the most eiiicient operating relation of said parts.

A further object is to provide, in a safety razor of this type, an improved form of power unit for effecting the operating movements ot' the razor, which unit has in conjunction therewith a simple means for insuring a substantially steady and even delivery of power.

Another object ofthe invent: on is to provide a razor of this character in which the rven movements of the razor blade are in the form of a steady, high-speed vibration having substantially no lost motion or idle periods `in its movement.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following description and from the accompanying` drawing in which :v

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken substantally along the lines 1 1 of Fig. 2, certain parts of the governor mechanism being broken away. y

Fig. 2 is an elevation partially in section and looking at the assemblysubstantially at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 :s a detail plan view of the governor assembly.

Fig. 4 is a detailview of the blade and its immediate operating connections.`

Serial No` 530,526, now

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the head of the razor. A

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken substantially along the lines 6 6 of Fig. 1. i dltig. 7 is a detail section of the governor While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, I haveshown in the drawing and have herein described in'detail the preferredembodiment, but'it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative coristructions falling within the spirit `and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Generally stated, tbe objects `of the inventlon have been attained by providing a compact organization arranged to vibrate or oscillate a razor blade at an exceedingly high speed relative to a supporting razor blade guard.` The driving means for effecting the rapid vibration in the present instance includes a. spring motor which is suitably connected by gearing and othermechanijsm to the razor blade. A novel form of governor means for controlling the speed of vibration is also provided and is so juxtaposed in relation to the mechanismdirectly connected to the razor blade as to insure a sensitive and highly efficient operation thereof. Furthermore, the entire mechanismiis compactly arranged to occupy a minimum amount of space in a' casing which is substantially sealed to prevent the admission of moisture, dirt or the like into the casing.

More particularly describing the invention with reference first to ment of parts, a tubular casing 10 carries on one end thereof a head 11 and on ne other end a handle 12. A razor blade 13 is mounted in the head 11, and a spring motor 14 in the handle 12 vibrat-es the razor 13 through the intermediate agency of suitable gears. The

preferred construction of the spring motor is shown clearly in Fig. 1 and comprises va. coiled strip of resilient metal, the inner end of which is secured to a bushing 15, in any suitable manner, as to one end of a pin 16 the general arrangeextending through the bushing. The other or l cling sleeve 18.

outer end of the coil is secured to a projecting from a sleeve 18 which The handle 12 is, in

screw-threaded engagement as at 21. An iny ternal annular shoulder 22 on the handle section 20 provides, with the screw threaded end of the handle section 19, an internal annular recess 23 arranged to receive a raised annular rib 24 formed upon the spring encir- This construction permits the spring motor to be rigidly assembled in and readily disassembled fromthe handle of the razor. The end of the handle section 20 is closed in any suitable manner, as by means of an integrally formed end plate 25.

In transmitting the power of the spring motor topdrive the razor blade, a shaft 26 is rigidly secured to the bushing 15, as bv means proper relative positions of bushing 44 which is screw of the pins 16 and 27, to extend axially of the razor in to the casing 10. .The outer end of the shaft is preferably journaled in a suitable bearing 28 formed in the end plate 25. The inner end of the shaft 26 carries a crown gear 29 arranged to mesh with the first one of a train of gears 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 mounted on parallel shafts 36, 37 and 3S. Each of the gears in this gear train effects a considerable increase in the speed ratio, and the last gear 35 in the train is a beveled gear arranged to mesh with a complementary beveled gear 39 rigidly mounted on a cam-wheel shaft 40 extending at an angle to the axis of the casing 10. The outer end of the shaft 40 extends through a razor guard 41 formed on the head 11, and the outer end of the shaft carries a cam wheel 42 by which vibratory motion is imparted to the razor blade, in a manner. to be presently set forth. The advancing side of the razor guard 41 is provided with guard teeth 41 of customary construction, and a transverse groove 41" positioned to underlie the cutting edge of the blade receives accumulations of soap and the like during the shaving process, to prevent binding of the blade by such accumulations.

With particular reference to the construction and mounting of the head 11 with respect to the casing 10, the open end of the head is screw threaded to engage complementary screw threads on the end of the casing 10. A shoulder 43 on the head determines the the head and casing. The shaft 40 and beveled gear 39 are preferably mounted in permanent association with the head, means being provided to permit of the relatively delicate adjustment necessary in order to insure that the beveled gear 39 may always have a proper working engagement with its complementary gear 35.

To this end` the shaft 40 is j ournaled in a threaded into the the form of two interguard member 41. The outer end of the ushing carries a fiat head 45 in underlying abutment with the cam Wheel 42 and is ofl sufficient diameter to extend beyond the edges of the cam-wheel. The head 45 is arranged to be engaged by suitable means, such as a Spanner wrench or the like, by which the position of the'bushing relative to the guard 41 may be axially adjusted. The opposite end of the bushing bears against the hub of the bevel gear 39 secured on the shaft. Consequently adjustment of the bushing` relative to the guard 41 carries with it the shaft 40 to produce the proper operating clearance between the'beveled gears 39 and 35. Preferably the shaft 40 is of sufficiently ameter to permit a film of o-il to form and be held onsaid shaft in order to prevent moisture from entering the head along the shaft.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 5, it will be seen that the razor blade guard 41 extends laterally to either side of the hollow portion of the head 11. The razor blade 13 is mounted for sliding movement upon a suitably {inished fiat surface on the guard and is guided in such movement by means of pins 46 journaled in the guard and having heads 47 eccentrically mounted thereon which extend into elongated slots or recesses 48 formed near either end of the blade. Substantially midway between the ends of the blade is a recess 49, the opposite sides of which are formed to provide cam surfaces 50 and 51. The cam wheel 42 is so positioned relative to the guard 41 that when the blade is in operative position on the guard the cam wheel enters the recess 49 and lies substantially in the plane of the blade.

Preferably the cam wheel has the shape of what might be termed a star wheel having an odd number of points, and the shape of the cam surfaces 50 and 51 on the blade correspond substantially to the angular configuration of the star wheel between two adjacent points, the angle of the cam points on the blade, however, being somewhat less thanl the corresponding angle on the cam wheel in order to prevent exact abutment of the parts.

'The preferred disposition and relative size of the parts is such that when one of the points of the star wheel is in engagement with one of the cam points on the blade, the opposite cam point will be intermediate adjacent points on the cam wheel with said adj acent points substantially in engagement with the sides of the cam surface on either side of said point. Moreover, the center of rotation of the cam wheel is positioned substantially in alinement with the guide pins 46 It will be seen, therefore, that rotation of the cam wheel 42 will impart a vibratory motion to the razor blade through the successive engagements of the points on the star Wheel with the cam surfaces on theyblade first with one and then the other of the cam surfaces on large digeous,

' multaneouslyvto bration and the position of the blade. For

ers 52 which denote the bla de is. decidedly Inasmuch as each one of the points on the cam wheel engages the razor blade twice -for each revolution (see Fig. 4) it will be apparent that thenumber of movements imparted to the blade will be twice the number of teeth per revolution of the cam wheel.

v.As a consequence of this construction, a veryhigh speed vibration may be attained without running the cam-wheel shaft at an excessively high speed. This is advantainasmuch as it permits greater power to be applied to the large relatively slow running shaft in order to overcome the tendency of accumulated soap and dirt vto clog .the mechanism, which would seriously impair the eliiciency of the device if the shaft were run at approximately the samespeed as the blade vibrates.

The high speed vibration and the relativeclose relation of the star wheel and the advantageous '.in that it insures a vibration of the blade without any idle or lost motion at the end of each stroke. That is, the rapid transition attained by this construction produces a stroke in the nature of a true vibration rather than ordinary reciprocation, thusy closely approaching the maximum eliiciency of operation of such a device. i In connection with this advantage, the provision by which the impulses of the star wheel are transmitted to the blade substantially in the line of the guides practically eliminates all tendency of the blade to rock or swing the blade.y

under the successive impacts of the star wheel points. Friction and duced to a minimum.

en the axis of the star wheel is positioned in alinement with the cam points on the razor blade the maximum `length of vibratory stroke will be imparted to the blade'. By effecting a relative movement between the axis of the cam wheel and the alinement of said points it is possible to decrease the length of the vibratory stroke. To this end the guide pins 46 may be rotated so that the eccentric heads 47 bearing against the sides of the elongated slots 48' will move the razor blade transversely of the direction of vibration. Such a movement also adjusts the position of the forward or cutting edge of the razor blade withvrespect to the front edge of the guard. Hence, it becomes possible sielfect the adjustment of viwear therefore are reconvenience in effecting these adjustments the pins 46 extend through the razor blade guard and the other ends thereof carry pointposition of the blade relative to the guard and also facilitate the rotation of the pins to a new position of adjustment.

In order to maintain the blade in operative position and also permit the blade to be conveniently removed and replaced, a cap 53 ments 64'3L and 64b.

is provided which partly covers the razor blade. The cap is pivoted for movement relative to the razor guard in any suitable manner as by means of the pins 54 (Fig. 5) at either end of the cap 53 is recessed as at 55 to clear the cam wheel 42 but the heads 47 on the adjusting pins 46 are of sufficient thickness to engage the cap, when the cap is closed in order to prevent the forward end of the cap from binding against the razor blade. Means such as the flat springs 56 engaging lugs 57 on the cap may be provided to hold the cap in either Vopen or closed position.

It is desirable, in order to obtain the most eicient operation of a device of this character, that the vibrations of the razor blade be substantially steady and constant in speed. Therefore a overnor has been provided which is high y sensitive and is capable of efliciently limiting the vibration of the blade to a certan predetermined speed. Moreover the governor is arranged for convenient insertion in and removal from the complete assembly as a unit.

'A suitable construction by which these ends' may be accomplished is illustrated in Fig. 3, with reference also to Figs. 1, 2 and 5. A split ring 58 of substantial width is of such diameter that it may fit snugly within the tubular end of the head 11, the split 58el permitting slight compression of the ring to enable the ring to be easily inserted or withdrawn. Projecting in the same direction from opposed portions of the ring, and offset somewhat from the diameter toward the split side thereof, is a pair of .bearing arms 59 and 60 having alined bearings in the ends thereof to receive a governor shaft 61.

One of the bearing arms, in this instance the arm 59, is substantially other arm so that the governor shaft 61 eX- tends across the interior of the cap in substantially perpendicular relationship to the axis of the cam wheel shaft 40. The governor shaft has a worm 62 thereon which is arranged to be engaged by the teeth of a guard. Internally the longer than lthe worm wheel 63 on the cam wheel shaft 40. A-

preferred manner of mounting the worm wheel upon the shaft 40 comprises assembling the worm wheel, as by means of a driven fit or the like, upon the hub of the bevel gear 39. By this construction the governor shaft is driven directly from the shaftwhich imparts vibratory movement to the blade, and it is preferred that'the ratio of the worm wheel to the worm be such that the speed of the governor shaft is greatly increased over the speed of the cam wheel shaft.

Near the upper end of the governor shaft a governor disk 64 is rigidly secured for rotation therewith. As shown in Fig. 7, the governor disk comprises a substantially flat circular member formed in two separate seg- `Oraof the segments,

. hub

disk is annu arly grooved to receive a resilient split clamping ring 66 which maintains g the normal abutment of the segments.

In operation, the governor disk rotates with the governor shaft and, below a predetermined speed of the shaft, the ring 66 is of sufficient tension to maintain the two segshaft.

ments of the disk in normal abutment, in which condition the governor disk is in equilibrium about the shaft 61. However, when the speed of the cam wheel shaft 40 exceeds a predetermined limit the centrifugal force of the rotating disk effects a separation of the two segments against the tension of the ring 66 to destroy the balance of the disk. This creates an eccentric motion which is transmitted to the shaft 61 and increases the friction between the shaft and the bearings (particularly the adjacent bearing) in which the shaft is journaled to produce a braking action which is in turn transmitted to the cam wlieel shaft 40 to reduce the speed of said Preferably the loose segment 64b is somewhat larger than the segment 64 in order to increase the eccentricity of the governor shaft when the segments are separated. In order to lessen the friction of the moving parts induced by the driving connection be tween the -worm and worm wheel, the bearing in the upper bearing arm 59 may be in the nature of a thrust bea-ring. f

Since in the normal useof the-razor (in which the razor is held vertically) the weight of the governor shaft and disk will exert a downward force bearing directly upon the worm wheel, means is provided for supporting the weight of the governor shaft. To this end a U-shaped spring 67 is secured at the upper end to the bearing arm 59 and ex- V tends around the governor assembly to position the other or lower end in abutment with the bearing arm 60 and juxtaposed to the bearing therein. The governor shaft 61 at this end extendsa short distance through its bearing to be engaged by the spring. Consequently the governor shaft and disk are resiliently suspended in the bearings, which eliminates the necessity of adjusting the bearings in the bearing arms 59, 60 with extreme accuracy. Moreover, looseiiess or play between the worm and worm wheel is prevented and the shaft is urged in an upward direction to prevent any of the weight of the shaft and disk from being supported by the teeth of the worm wheel 63.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a very simple form of governor has been provided for controlling the speed of rotation of the cam wheel shaft and conthe gover- .the casing may be viding such speed of the blade, which governor assemb easily inserted or removed from the razor, and is exceedingly sensitive land efficient in its controlling action: This sensitivity of control is enhanced bythe construction which permits the governor to be rotated at a much reater speed than the shaft which drives the blade, and also by the application of the braking force directly to said shaft.

Fi ures 1 and 2 illustrate a unitary structure in which gears by which the driving force of the spring motor 14 is transmitted to the cam wheel shaft40. Thus, 38 are all journaled by their ends in a framework 68. This framework comprises a tubular shaped member split vertically to permit the walls of the framework to be separated. Thus, when the walls are separated somewhat the ends of the various shafts may be slipped into the bearings formed in the framework to form the unitary structure. The framework is adapted to fit snugly within the casing 10, annular shoulders 69 lbeing provided in the casing to engage suitable peripheral portions of the framework and properly position the framework in the casing.

A definite relation of the framework to further assured by promeans as keys 70 and 71 at oppositel ends thereof. In addition the keys at the cap end,`designated 70, may also engage the ring 58 and thereby serve to insure a definite relationship between the governor assequently the vibratory ly may be sembly, the cap 11 and the framework 68.A

In consequence of this arrangement lof parts, disassembly of the geartrain from the assembled razor may' be easily effected and the parts subsequently reassembled in proper operative association without difficulty, even at the hands of an inexperienced person.

Displacement of the gear train assembly axially of the casng 10 is prevented by means of a circular disk member 72 arranged to bear a ainst the end of the framework 68. Centra ly the disk provides a bearing, as at 73, for the spring motor shaft 26. The disk is held in place in the assembly by means of an inner casing 7 4 which is internally screw threaded into the casing 10 to bear against the disk 72, thus forcing the disk into close abutment with the framework 68 and maintaining the framework rigidly in its assembled position in the casing.

In order to insure that this definite relationship will be maintained, an adjustable interlock may be provided between the disk 72 and the inner casing of the inner casing 74. Two series of aperit is preferred to assemble thev the various shafts 36, 37 and 74. In this instance, such an interlock comprises a sleeve 75 surrounding sion the spring,

-condition and lthe inner casing 74` \is provided tures 78 (see Fig. 6) at spaced intervals on the respective plates 76 and -77 are arranged to be brought into alinement at various positions of rotation of the inner casing 74 relative to the disk 72. Thus when the disk 72 has been forced into proper position the nearest alined pair of apertures on the plates 76 and 77 may be brought into alinement after which a pin 79 engages the two disks through the alined apertures to prevent further relative rotation therebetween.

- The handle 12 is rotatably mounted on the end of the inner casing 74 and the spring motor is arranged so that when the handle is rotated with reference to the casing 10 the spring is placed under tension to provide ar driving force for vibrating the razor blade. In the preferred manner of mounting the handle upon the inner casing 17 (see Fig. 1) a restricted portion 80 is provided on the open end of the handle member 19. This restricted portion is of such diameter that it fits snugly and rotatably upon the surface of the inner casing 74. Externally,

with an annular shoulder'fsh ov in this instance as lying in the plane of the plate 77, and a series of ratchet teeth 82 are formed in the peripheral face of the shoulder for a purpose to be subsequently set forth. The restricted portion 80 of thehandle member 19 is of such internal length that it abuts, on the one'hand, theQ end of the casing 10 and, on the other hand, the annular shoulder on the inner casing 74. Thus the handle is rotatably mounted on the casing 10 yet is held against movement axially thereof.

Means for preventing the release of the tension of the spring after the spring has been wound by rotating the handle comprises a simple form of pawl and ratchet arrangement illustrated in Fig. 6. The spring sleeve 18 is provided at its free end. with an inwardly extending lug 81 arranged to lie substantially parallel and adjacent to the surface of the plate 77. A double pawl 83 is pivotally supported on the lug 81 in the plane of the plate 77 to engage the ratchet teeth 82 on the inner casing. Thus, as the handle is rotated with reference to the casing to tenthe pawl moves about the ratchet teeth and upon release of the handle engages the teeth to prevent release of the tension except as it rotates the shaft 26.

It has also been found advantageous, in a device of this character, to provide means insuring that the spring motor will deliver a driving force to 'the operating mechanism which is substantially constant. That is to say, it is desirable, in employing a spring motor, to eliminate the initialforce exerted by the spring when it is in its fully wound also to prevent the use of the spring power exerted when the tension of the spring is almost exhausted. This is be- 81. Pivotally head,

cause of the well recognized fact that at either extreinethe force exerted by the spring varies widely from the average force exerted. In order, therefore, to insure that the force used in vibrating the razor blade will be only that force exerted when the spring motor is under substantially intermediate tension, a simple means substantially in the 'form of a Geneva stop is provided. To this end a lug 84 (Figs. l and 6) is formed on the spring sleeve 18 which is substantially similar and oppositely disposed to the supported from this lug is a generally well-known type of Geneva pawl 85 arranged to engage a complementary pawl 86 mounted on the shaft 26 and secured for rotation therewith as by means of the pin 87 into the bushing 15. The two pawls are adjusted in the usual manner to prevent a complete release of the tension of the spring and also to limit the number of turns of the handle in winding the spring.' Consequently only the desired substantially even driving force of the spring motor may be imparted to the operating mechanism, thereby insuring that the razor blade will be vibrated at a steady rate of speed.

l claim as my invention:

1. In a safety razor the combination of a tubular casing, a tubular frame mounted in the bore of said casing having a plurality of interengaging gears supported therein to form an operative series of gears, a razor head threaded into one end of said casing and arranged to abut one end of said frame, a clamping member positioned within said casing 1n abutment with frame, anda handle assembly screw threaded into the other end of said casing to abut said clamping member and force said clamping member adjustably against said frame, and means providing an' interlock between said handle assembly and said clamping member.

2. In a safety razor the combination of a tubular casinga tubular frame mounted in the bore of said casing having a plurality of interengaging gears supported therein to form an operative series of gears, a razor head threaded into one end of said casing to abut one end of ber positioned within said casing in abutment with the other end of said frame, an inner casing threaded into theopen end of said casing to bear against said clamping member adjusta-bly to position said clamping pawl lug said fra 2 ne, a clamping mem-l the other end of said i relative rotation therebetween after assembly, and a handle rotatablyl mounted upon said inner casing.

3. In a safety razor the combination of a a razor blade mounted for drivenmovement on said head, a shaft for imparting such movement to said blade, and governor means v4anced condition of sai rit 'of said shaft, and a supporting in said head controlling the speed of rotation member in which said governor means 1s journalled, said supporting member and said governor means being capable of insertion in and removal from sai head as a unit.

4. In a safety razor, the combination of a head, a shaft rotatably journaled in said head, a worm wheel on said shaft, and a governor mechanism mounted in said head for controlling the speed of rotation of said shaft, said governor mechanism being removable as a unit from the head and including a worm meshing with said worm wheel.

5. In a safety razor, the' combination of a head, a shaft rotatably journaled in said head,

a worm wheel on said shaft, and a governor mechanism for 'controlling the speed of rotation of said shaft, said governor mechanism comprising a shaft having a worm en aging with said worm wheel, a disk on sai shaft normallyp rotatimg in balanced condition about-the axis of said shaft, and means for destroying said balance when 'the speed of said shaft exceeds a predetermined limit.

6. In a safety razor, the'combination of a head, a shaft rotatably journaled in said head, a worm wheel on said shaft, and a governor mechanism for controlling the speed of rotation of said shaft, said governor mechanism comprising a worm engaging said worm wheel, a pair of interitting disk segments constructed when in proper abutment to form a balanced disk, means for securing one of said segments rigidly to said worm, and resilient means normally holding said gments in abutmentl whereby when said se shaft rotates at greater than a predetermined speed the free one of said segmentswill moveV out of normal abutment against the tension of said resilient means to destroy the bald disk.

7. In a safety razor the combination ofa head, a shaft rotatably journaled in said head, a wormwheel on said shaft, and a governor mechanism for controlling the speed of rotation of said shaft, said governor mechanism comprising a frame removably mounted in said head, a pair of bearings supported by said frame, a governor shaft journaled in sai bearings on an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said Worm wheel shaft, a worm on said governor shaft engaging sai worm wheel, and a governor member mounted normally to rotate in a balanced condition about the axis of said governor and including means thereon for destroying said balance when the speed of rotation of said governor member exceeds a predetermined limit.

8. In a safety razor the combination of a blade supporting head, a blade actuating shaft rotatably journaled in said head, a worm wheel on said shaft, governor mechanism driven from said shaft, including a worm meshing with said worm Wheel, and resilient ed. in the bore of said casing, a

d shaft and extending rotatably journaled in said head, a worm wheel on said shaft, a governor mechanism includin a governor shaft rotatably journaled in sai head, a worm on said governor shaft arranged to engage the worm wheel on said blade actuating shaft, and resilient means engaging one end of said governor shaft to prevent the weight of the rotating parts of said governor mechanism from resting on said worm. wheel when said razor is in substantially an upright position.

l0.A In a safety razor the combination of a casing, a blade-operating mechanism mounted in said casing, a spring motor drivingly connected handle member enclosing said spring motor, and means supporting said handle on said casing for relative rotation, said means including an annular shoulder on said casing engaging a part of said handle to prevent separation of said handle from teeth formedin the peripheral face of said shoulder, and a paWl supported by said handle for engagement, with said teeth to preventl relative rotation therebetween in one drcction.

11./In a safety razor, the combination of a tubular casing, a frame nonrotatably mounttrain' of gears mounted in the frame, a razor head mounted on one end of said casing, a handle threaded onto the other end of said casing, means interposed between said handle and said frame arranged as said handle is threaded onto said casing to clamp said frame relative to said head, and means to lock said interposed means in clamping position.

12. In a safety razor, the combination of a razor head, a razor blade on said head, means for imparting vibratory motion to said blade including a driven shaft journalled in said head, a second shaft rotatably mounted in said head adjacent to said first-mentioned transversely thereof, a governor operatively mounted on said second `shaft, a worm gear on said irst shaft, and a d worm on said second shaft engageable by said worm gear.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed mv signature.

RUSSELL P. HARSHBERGER.

to said operating member, a

said casing, ratchet l 

